Best network at the moment to use.

mithrandir · 2 Jun 2024 at 20:32

Drangueos said:
anything but 3

This for sure!!

mithrandir · 2 Jun 2024 at 20:34

I'm on EE and they're the one I would recommend. (Been on T-Mobile then Orange, etc before EE)

biron_w · 4 Jun 2024 at 09:09

Drangueos said:
anything but 3

3 are great where I live. Whereas O2 and Vodafone are absolutely rubbish.

VaderDSL · 6 Jun 2024 at 07:37

I’m with 3 and just waiting to see if the Vodafone merger goes ahead, if it doesn’t I’ll probably switch.

edGfaCTor · 9 Jun 2024 at 07:13

No such thing this is a bit of a trick question.

Many variables which is why I would suggest people go for short deals to try networks out to see which is best for them.

ristac · 9 Jun 2024 at 07:57

You usually pay a bit more for EE but I find their coverage fantastic

Besty · 9 Jun 2024 at 16:48

The world is changing all the time, there is quite a bit of 5G deployment still going on.

There are also, even with GiffGaff, quite a few differing Tiers of 5G data service and (I am guessing Lebara is the same) that is why they are cheaper.

It's not very well known about but if you download the GiffGaff app you can install an eSIM onto your Pixel/iPhone and try it out.

Whilst I do retain at least one GiffGaff plan at all times, their 5G service is nowhere near Vodafones and when I do get a 5G signal on a GiffGaff SIM it's nowhere near Vodafone speed. EE were the 4G kings but I am not sure its the best 5G network.

If I am in a new location I usually use nPerf an Opensignal to work out where the nearest 5G masts are and, who owns them.

Firegod · 9 Jun 2024 at 17:29

I just tried GiffGaff the other day. I've never tried the O2 network. wow it was shockingly bad for me. No 5G indoors which is fine, phone was constant 4G+ so I thought that'll be fine but the speeds and latency were terrible. ~10Mbps down and 3Mbps up with loaded latencies in the thousands. I ran the GiffGaff SIM and my current Three SIM in my phone together. I fired up the WiFiman app and did a walk test to monitor signal strength between the two (very useful). GiffGaff was constantly less than Three. And given that my Three signal isn't the best, it meant O2 was no good. In the house I was seeing the likes of -120 dBm and about 1-2 bars of strength on the phone.

lmfy2k · 9 Jun 2024 at 18:10

Firegod said:
I just tried GiffGaff the other day. I've never tried the O2 network. wow it was shockingly bad for me. No 5G indoors which is fine, phone was constant 4G+ so I thought that'll be fine but the speeds and latency were terrible. ~10Mbps down and 3Mbps up with loaded latencies in the thousands. I ran the GiffGaff SIM and my current Three SIM in my phone together. I fired up the WiFiman app and did a walk test to monitor signal strength between the two (very useful). GiffGaff was constantly less than Three. And given that my Three signal isn't the best, it meant O2 was no good. In the house I was seeing the likes of -120 dBm and about 1-2 bars of strength on the phone.

Giffgaff although use O2, have bottom priority on the network, for this reason, i would avoid GG at all costs.

If O2 works for you, Tesco PAYM and Sky Mobile both have full access to O2 network.

mithrandir · 9 Jun 2024 at 18:13

What is the best way to test signal/reliability? I've used speedtest but not sure what to looks for in addition to the d/l and u/l speeds?

Besty · 9 Jun 2024 at 18:51

mithrandir said:
What is the best way to test signal/reliability? I've used speedtest but not sure what to looks for in addition to the d/l and u/l speeds?

nPerf, full test, 'droid only. It's one of the reasons I switched from IOS on my phone.

Firegod · 9 Jun 2024 at 19:21

lmfy2k said:
Giffgaff although use O2, have bottom priority on the network, for this reason, i would avoid GG at all costs.

If O2 works for you, Tesco PAYM and Sky Mobile both have full access to O2 network.

Thanks I did not know that. I'll see if I can try one of the others.

mithrandir · 9 Jun 2024 at 20:26

Besty said:
nPerf, full test, 'droid only. It's one of the reasons I switched from IOS on my phone.

Thanks will check it out

lmfy2k · 10 Jun 2024 at 07:41

Besty said:
nPerf, full test, 'droid only. It's one of the reasons I switched from IOS on my phone.

It’s also available for iOS. Is the android version different?

Besty · 11 Jun 2024 at 16:12

The IOS version has no hardware access to the Apple modem (unless Apple have changed approach) and therefore, low-level readings are not possible on any IOS device (I assume if its jailbroken a hacked app might work).

Merlin5 · 12 Jun 2024 at 17:15

I've been with EE forever and a day, mostly because my nephew works at head office and I get 50% discount. I'm still happy with my Samsung S21 FE which is a couple of years old now but is still pristine and still gets security updates, so why change. They offered me the latest S24 for £32 with 25GB data which is good, but I don't need it for now.

Anyway, I've been paying £37pm for my phone with 10GB data. The phone is now paid for and the contract ends on the 15th. I decided to go SIM only and was offered £13pm with the same 10GB data. Then another customer service person offered me SIM only with 25GB data but for 50p less at £12.50 with 5G and the usual unlimited calls and texts. It's a no brainer for me! So I started a new 24 month SIM only contract at that £12.50pm.

Disco_P · 13 Jun 2024 at 00:18

Merlin5 said:
I've been with EE forever and a day, mostly because my nephew works at head office and I get 50% discount. I'm still happy with my Samsung S21 FE which is a couple of years old now but is still pristine and still gets security updates, so why change. They offered me the latest S24 for £32 with 25GB data which is good, but I don't need it for now.

Anyway, I've been paying £37pm for my phone with 10GB data. The phone is now paid for and the contract ends on the 15th. I decided to go SIM only and was offered £13pm with the same 10GB data. Then another customer service person offered me SIM only with 25GB data but for 50p less at £12.50 with 5G and the usual unlimited calls and texts. It's a no brainer for me! So I started a new 24 month SIM only contract at that £12.50pm.

So more than 1p with a contract, roaming fees and annual price rises? You'll probably find it's speed capped as well.

This is why I left EE, their regular prices are so bad that even their massively discounted sale prices are worse than the competition.

e36Adz · 13 Jun 2024 at 01:44

I was with ee for a few years with multiple sim cards on my account - me, my wife, my mum, my dad etc. I recently switched my main no over to o2 because ee were being funny on an offer I'd seen at renewal, so to make a point I switched to o2. Let's just say I'll be switching straight back to ee as soon as I can in Dec. Fortunately my phone is dual sim so I've actually got a spare ee sim in there now, calls and messages are set to o2 (main number) but mobile data is set to ee.

Merlin5 · 13 Jun 2024 at 01:45

Disco_P said:
So more than 1p with a contract, roaming fees and annual price rises? You'll probably find it's speed capped as well.

This is why I left EE, their regular prices are so bad that even their massively discounted sale prices are worse than the competition.

I just tested with the speedtest app on my phone and got 340Mbps down and 36Mbps up, and that was just using 4G. That's more than fast enough for me. To be honest, I had no idea the speed has increased so much. My Virgin Media wifi is only 150Mbps for £22pm. So I don't think I'm getting a bad deal with EE. I've no idea what the prices are though with the competition.

Firegod · 14 Jun 2024 at 13:34

Shifted back to EE this afternoon. Paid the exit charge with Three and grabbed my PAC code. Grabbed the summer deal on the EE 50GB SIM (100Mbps with always on data). With my discount it means £12.80 a month. Went with an eSim this time so that should be interesting. Looking forward to having better indoor signal!